Better off shutting Lance down. Two injuries this season involving his arm. Sad to say but, probably shouldn't expect a big career from him
But if anybody would have a decent perspective on it, it would be Smoltz... a 200 inning/year starter who was specifically switched to closer to "save" his arm. He thought closing over that 4 year span was a bigger strain, and went back to being a 200 inning/year starter. I think people take for granted the unpredictable nature of the relief pitcher, and whether or not the arm truly has enough recovery time. Warming up/sitting down/warming up again... its a completely alternative way of "getting ready" as opposed to the every 5th day starter who goes through a very regimented routine of ice, rest, short-toss/long-toss, bullpen session, rest, then start again. Obviously, not all arms are created equal. Some are going to get injured no matter how you handle them, while some will stay healthy regardless of the role (or after TJS, they end up "stronger", and are able to pitch 200+ innings at ages 38-40).
No doubt he has a decent perspective. Just too many issues for that 1 perspective to hold water. 1) Every arm is different. Would take a number of samples like Smoltz put together to say "this is the typical experience among the 2 pitching types". 1 sample is just 1 sample..almost irrelevant because of how different experiences can be. 2) Smoltz already had incredibly significant wear on his arm before switching to closer. And I think already had surgery once at that point? That's more than enough to color his perspective...his arm was "different" than it was in '91. He has a perspective, but it's extremely biased physically. 3) Smoltz was a starter before a closer. Perhaps reversing the order changes results? Unknown. 4) Different injuries can result from different types of strain. Perhaps some would occur regardless due to mechanics (i.e. the guy who predicted this in Lance based on his pronation) and some are more dependent on innings / the types of innings one throws. Just so many variables at play to make this a simple issue. Which I guess may lead back to just pitching in the most valuable place possible until something suggests otherwise. Just not because Smoltz said so
That's why I included Wainwright's perspective. Derek Lowe has also had a similar comment. I haven't found a quote or soundbite from a reliever that said his arm felt better there than it did as a starter... probably because most starters become relievers due to ineffectiveness, not simply trying to save the arm. True... but he did become a starter AGAIN after the closing stint, and his arm felt better. Forget about 91. Smoltz said he had less strain on his arm as a 39 year old starter throwing a 232 innings vs. a 37 year old closer throwing 81 innings. He's also specifically mentioned because he has the biggest sample size of any pitcher trying to make a move from one to the other. Rivera didn't start enough games. Wainwright didn't close enough games. Correct... which can happen regardless of which role the pitcher takes. My premise is that covering Lance to a closer or relief pitcher to "save" his arm is entirely subjective and not necessarily going to benefit his health.
I think this injury stuff has to do with the number of times McCullers throws his curve ball which increases stress on his elbow. Last year he threw it 28% of the time and this year he's thrown it 49.6% of the time. Same thing that happened with Masahiro Tanaka when he came into the league tearing it up and then was injured. I think Tyson Ross also has this issue with his slider and he's always hurt. When you throw a curve, slider, split finger more than 40% of the time and you throw it hard like these guys, your injury risk goes way up.
Its a good point. Really would love to know exactly what his scans showed... is there a plausible reason they wouldn't say?
I can't remember if I posted it before, but it's worth a re-post.. super interesting read, to go along with the picture in the tweet. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">When Lance McCullers breaks (probably elbow) it will be due to this, not year after effect. <a href="https://t.co/6gerSfPTAJ">https://t.co/6gerSfPTAJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/VUdCC27f4r">pic.twitter.com/VUdCC27f4r</a></p>— Chris O'Leary (@thepainguy) <a href="https://twitter.com/thepainguy/status/697539101424119808">February 10, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It's possible McCullers has a tear and they're giving him that stem-cell treatment that Garrett Richards and Andrew Heaney have done this year. At the time McCullers went out, if he'd gone straight to Tommy John there'd be a possibility he'd miss all of next season. So if he has a tear, might as well wait to see if you can get him back out there. I guess that's my conspiracy theory.
The Astros cannot legally discuss the scans without permission from McCullers/agent and there is no benefit for them to give permission to do so. Not sure the Astros would want to discuss them anyway; Luhnow is paranoid.
Of course... Then again, nearly all injuries in pro sports (especially to important players) are well described and concrete info given. What is Luhnow paranoid about in this situation? I suppose it's smart to avoid transparency every chance they can... But in this case, I feel fans deserve to know the full story. Either that or the doctors treating him are the same ones that told Luhnow that Valbuena would be back in 2-3 games, and he's just doing away with all of them!
That's a good point. Regardless of if they're the same docs, Luhnow may just be pissed at how that ended up going in the opposite direction and so may have gone the super restrained route with the info
Twas an interesting read indeed! The pic of the kid from vanderbilt was ridiculous. Looks uncomfortable. Hell I grabbed a tennis ball right here next to me and tried to mimic that position, my arm can't even twist that far and you can feel the strain just from doing that in your elbow AND shoulder. Can't imagine doing that and then firing off a big league fastball or curve like McCullers throws. No wonder he's sore.
Overhand throwing/pitching is really such an un-natural movement for the human body to do. Combine that un-natural-ness with the repetitive/high velocity nature of most good pitchers... with the fact that pitchers are being groomed as pitchers younger and younger than ever before... and its clear why the number of surgeries has sky-rocketed (along with the appropriate advancements/decreased complication rates of the surgery itself).
Agreed. I wonder if there's been any studying of sidearm strains or submarining? Despite the awkward nature it always seemed a more natural motion, albeit more difficult to control. Most SS and 3B kinda sling toss to 1st on routine plays. Seems like it was also way more common 20 years ago. I remember my coach wouldn't let me throw a curve until there were 2 strikes. Maybe similar rules should be imposed on little leaguers (I also wasn't that good and didn't play baseball exclusively or my entire youth) so their arms can be somewhat saved?
Can't throw as hard, harder to control, but you're right. The human arm was made to throw side/underarm. Google video of Walter Johnson.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Lance McCullers played catch in a "light fashion." Hinch said McCullers hasn't felt any issues, pain or anything like that. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Astros?src=hash">#Astros</a></p>— Angel Verdejo Jr. (@ahverdejo) <a href="https://twitter.com/ahverdejo/status/769283237990379521">August 26, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
